Gestational Diabetes Linked to ADHD in Children
A new study has found that children born to mothers who experienced gestational diabetes are more likely to develop ADHD.
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An Edith Cowan University (ECU) study has found children born to mothers who experienced gestational diabetes (GDM) during pregnancy are more likely to develop attention-deficient hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and externalising behaviour.
The research by ECU Honorary researcher Dr Rachelle Pretorius and Professor Rae-Chi Huang examined data from 200,000 mother-child pairs across Europe and Australia, and found that in children aged 7 to 10, those born to mothers with gestational diabetes had consistently higher ADHD symptoms.
Children aged 4 to 6 years, born to mothers with gestational diabetes consistently exhibited more externalising problems than those born who didn't.
"Externalising symptoms are behaviours directed outward. Instead of experiencing depression or anxiety, these children often display hyperactivity, impulsivity, defiance, or aggression," Dr. Pretorius explained.
"Externalising problems frequently coexist with ADHD symptoms and tend to emerge before medical intervention, especially during the early school, she added. years.
"At younger ages, children may exhibit more externalising problems and as the child matures, symptoms or behaviour related to ADHD may become more apparent. ADHD does not have biological markers for diagnosis, making ADHD a disorder that is difficult to detect before symptoms manifest," Professor Huang said.
It is still unclear why children exposed to gestational diabetes retained more externalising problems and ADHD symptoms respectively after adjustments.
"However, our findings suggest that these externalising behaviours may decrease over time but could extend into other domains such as neurodevelopment outcomes such as ADHD symptoms."
Dr Pretorius noted that while the exact mechanics of gestational diabetes influence on child development is still unclear, it is believed that acute and chronic maternal inflammation during pregnancy may influence certain pathways in a child's brain programming in-utero and contribute to neurodevelopment, cognitive and behaviour outcomes later in life.
"Several studies suggest that the severity of maternal diabetes, associated with maternal obesity, chronic inflammation have a joint impact on the development of autism spectrum disorder and ADHD in children, which is greater than the impact of either condition alone."
Reference: Pretorius RA, Avraam D, Guxens M, et al. Is maternal diabetes during pregnancy associated with neurodevelopmental, cognitive and behavioural outcomes in children? Insights from individual participant data meta-analysis in ten birth cohorts. BMC Pediatrics. 2025;25(1):76. doi:10.1186/s12887-024-05365-y
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